She's Not a Butterfly
by Kyrseis
Summary: Butterflies are frail. Although at first glance she may look it, I promise you that Hyuuga Hinata is anything but. Short ShinoHina musing.


To be completely honest, I have no idea where this came from. All I know is it won't leave me alone until it's written down.

Dedicated to Ally-kat722 because she's awesome and puts up with my Sasusaku ramblings all the time- even though she hates Sasusaku.

**Title: She's Not a Butterfly**

**Rating: **K

**Pairing: **ShinoHina

**Warnings: **ShinoHina fluff. (There, you were warned. Now, no NaruHina fans coming after me with pitchforks. This is a gift fic!)

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I suppose it would be easy to call her a butterfly. The all too familiar young woman is one of the most gentile creatures I have ever made acquaintance of. With her long glossy dark hair that cascades down and frames her ivory face and the pearly eyes that grace it, she can also easily be described as one of the most beautiful. I've watched her graceful movements in training that seem more suited to the wings of a butterfly on the morning breeze than the cumbersome limbs of a human being. There is an air of delicacy about her every time you near her, like she will take flight if you come close enough to frighten her away, and only when she feels completely safe will she fly close enough to show you the brilliancy of her colors.

However, I am an Aburame, and if there is anything I know better than Hyuuga Hinata, it is the identity of insects. She may be beautiful, graceful, and shy, but the young woman whom I've known for such a large part of my adolescent life is no butterfly.

Butterflies are so frail, and, although at first glance you might guess that she is too, I would tell you how incredibly wrong you are.

Over my years as her team mate, I've seen her go through a number of things that no girl should ever have to endure. Her very own father passing her over with his training- and more importantly affection- for her younger sister whom, at least at the beginning, showed more promise than she had. I watched her beaten almost mercilessly by her older cousin who held contempt for her for no other reason than she happened to be born into the main family rather than the branch where he belonged. I've watched her endure hatred and disapproval from her entire family simply because her power wasn't as quick to bloom as the others.

All of this she endured. And what's more, she endured it with a smile on her face- for our sake.

I've watched her take beating after beating from Kiba, from Akamaru, from Kurenai-sensei, and from myself on the training grounds. I've watched her fall to her knees or even face-down in the dirt after being dealt blows that should have put her out of commission, and I've seen the determination in her eyes as she keeps standing up on her own so she can still go on even if it would be better if she were to quit. I've seen the refusal to give up in her pale eyes as she endures comments about how she wasn't fit to be a kunoichi. Even if she does not meet their eyes, even if they never see it, the drive is there.

I hear it in her voice each time she pushes herself off the ground.

"_I. Will. Not. Fail." _

I believe her. I believe _in _her.

That is why Hinata is no butterfly. No butterfly would last as long as she has. I picture her more as a praying mantis- silently powerful and strong. Waiting patiently and only fighting when she has to, but when she does have to she never backs down. She is the plain green insect that blends in with her surroundings because she does not waste the effort it would take to don flashy colors and meticulously shaped wings- the one that nobody notices because perfectly-groomed beauty and outrageous displays of strength seem to be what is really important to the average observer.

But I am not the average observer. I have always seen what everyone else overlooks.

No. Hyuuga Hinata is no butterfly. However, if the truth be told….

I have always preferred the mantis over all the frivolous butterflies.

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Awww. Yay for random cute, fluffy drabbles! I imagine that if Hinata did not end up with Naruto, I would want her to be with Shino.

Thanks for reading!


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